Madame speaker, my Constituents are not prepared any longer to give an ounce of courtesy nor consensus to this government unless in matters of national emergency, simply because they are fed up with the government’s approach to handling matters in this House by flagrantly ignoring the axiom of "When you’re power, be merciful." Madame speaker, the people of Grants Town have informed me that the government has taken their position in Opposition and their kindness for weakness. And they have said they will countenance it no longer, and that on their behalf, they have informed me not to let it happen. So Madame speaker, at the risk of seeming to be nit-picky, the Grants Town Constituents have advised me to fight tooth and nail for their voices to be heard on every issue as the FNM Government winds down its time in Office.

Hence Madame speaker, that is one reason I stand here today to contribute to this debate, when if we were functioning in a Parliament of humility with service to the people as a priority, I would not have to be debating this Act to Amend Public Holidays at all. Likewise Madame speaker, what should be a very simplistic debate turns out to be an extraordinary one because it seems that every Bill this government brings to this Parliament, at least in the last three years; has some undertone of illegality, connivance and deceit. And again Madame speaker, this is because of the government’s means of reaching an end, which as of late has meant some corrupt act being committed by Government Members.

And though we are only debating a Public Holidays Amendment allowing stores to open the last two Sundays in this month, once again we will find that some government members are inculcated in yet another corrupt act, by commission or omission. An act of corruption that leaves us having to wonder if it is even safe nowadays to allow stores, or at least certain stores to open for the last two Sundays in this month, because the government cannot be counted on to uphold the rule of law.

But why should I be surprised Madame speaker, that corruption has reached an unimpeded level of fraudulent acts by those that operate business shops, when we know that corruption charges against the Member’s of Mt. Moriah and Blue Hills goes unchallenged by them? Madame speaker, why should I really be surprised that through debating this Bill, I will find that fraud has taken place upon the Public Treasury again? Why should I be surprised, when in fact the raping of the Public Treasury finds the Members for Mt. Moriah and Blue Hills still sitting in this Honorable Parliament; when instead they should have been detained and questioned by Law Enforcement Officials at least six weeks ago? Madame speaker, why should I be surprised that fraud is being committed in the simplest process as shops opening up the last two Sundays of this month, when the DPM, the Member for Adelaide, can abuse the privilege of being called an honorable Minister? Madame speaker, in my opinion and the opinion of others, he has earned the designation of Mr. Cheque Bouncer.

And Madame speaker, the acts of the DPM as co-signer on cheques that bounced is an issue that can finally be resolved, if the Member for North Abaco would stop his deliberate attempts to block the Public Accounts Committee Report from coming to this Parliament, by calling for Order of the Day. Madame speaker, this attempt by the Member for North Abaco preventing us from going down the Agenda, when reports from Committee's can be laid on the table is devious. And Madame speaker, this lame duck Prime Minister assailed the previous Administration for the use of Order of the Day to only deal with government business. And he gave his undertaking to this Parliament that he would not continue that practice.

However Madame speaker, the practice continues today because he has good reason to be afraid for the Public Accounts Committee to report. Shame on him, Madame speaker. He’s not a man to his word. Obviously, there is no decency left, if there was ever any, in this lame duck Prime Minister. With these kinds of things going on, why should I be surprised that even at the level of shops opening up on the last two Sundays of this month, that fraud will be committed? Likewise Madame speaker, its no wonder that I must bring to the attention of the Parliament, where again this government stands condemned for its neglect of revenue being collected. And knowing the track record of this corrupt government, they can also stand convicted for its collusion in the Public Treasury being defrauded again. And by the way, when will the Minister’s of Finance and National Security tell us what happened to the $500,000 that walked away in broad daylight from our Treasury?

Madame speaker, when will the assault on the Treasury by way of fraud come to an end? Madame speaker, when will the Member for North Abaco stop exhibiting a deliberate case of knowing nothing about corruption in his government, but yet claiming to know all things about everything else in the Bahamas? Madame speaker, as the charges of corruption continues to mount, its can be perceived that the lame duck Prime Minister is either directly involved as the mastermind or is covering up corruption for some other bizarre reason. Madame speaker, there are no other ways to look at it. The age of corruption in this government has to be the first time in the lame duck Prime Minister’s political career where we find him remaining silent and inactive. Why, Madame speaker? Why?

Sometimes the answers to questions are as obvious as they seem. The lame duck Prime Minister prides himself on being a man of action, but yet he does nothing about the many acts of corruption being thrust on the Treasury by government members and also persons in the merchant sector as I will show this Parliament in a few moments. Why, Madame speaker? I guess the lame duck Prime Minister cannot bring himself to take action against himself. Madame speaker, the perception is that he has to be involved in these acts of corruption, cause they say that silence on a matter gives consent. Madame speaker, its probably just as simple as that and just as obvious as it seems. Madame speaker, all of these acts of corruption causes me to have to ask, when will the Attorney General do his job as stipulated by the Constitution of the Bahamas? I again call on the Attorney General to stop sticking his head in the sand and get busy with his job, even if it means protecting the people’s money by bringing charges against, the Member for North Abaco, the DPM, the Minister of Finance and both Minister’s of Tourism and Education.

Madame speaker, I ask these questions because it seems that the corruption rocking the government has allowed certain merchants in the private sector to have a field day of fraud. Such a field day, Madame speaker, where I have to question seriously whether certain shops should be allowed to open for the last two Sundays in this month, or even be allowed to ever open again. Madame speaker, we recognize at this time of year, it is beneficial for stores to be open because of the need for them to sell their goods and the need for persons to buy goods. For we know that this is the season for buying gifts and for some merchants, the season for when they could make a substantial amount of money.

Which brings me to a fraudulent act being committed by a business place in Nassau, an act that has as its features the collusion of banking persons and the negligence at-best of persons in the government. However, the track record to date of those in charge of the government can easily turn the label negligence at-best into a case of government members turning a blind eye to the abuse of the Treasury, for political or other reasons. Madame speaker, these acts of fraud should leave most wondering if the particular business in question should be allowed to benefit from this Act we are debating today, by opening for the last two Sundays of this month. Likewise Madame speaker, these acts of fraud also must be addressed from a law enforcement perspective, where the rule of law must be upheld.

Madame speaker, I embrace this opportunity to share with this Parliament a very serious concern. A concern I have with a very large Bay Street business whose profitability is extensive. Madame speaker, the implications of my concern extends beyond this company and adversely impacts the revenues of the Public Treasury. Madame speaker, the activities of this Bahamian Conglomerate paints a clear picture of our Minister of Finance caring very little about the Treasury, now that he has messed it up and now that he is retiring, or turning a blind eye to the activities of this Bahamian Conglomerate. Madame speaker, I had good reasons for questioning the justification of Minister Allen’s Knighthood appointment, with the most recent reason being the need to have a Resolution to borrow $44.4 million to bail out Bahamasair.

Madame speaker, as I have said in the not too distant past, all should remember well the charges laid by the FNM Government against the previous government concerning its management of Bahamasair. Millions of dollars were spent on a Commission of Inquiry, only to conclude in my opinion that one of the problems all along was the Minister of Finance, who has been involved with Bahamasair in both governments and has invited financial disaster both times. So Madame speaker, I come again to question the Minister of Finance’s suitability as a Minister as we debate this Bill to Amend Public Holidays. I won’t even bother to question again the insane idea of him being knighted for any possible reason.

Madame speaker, I continue to be supplied with a great deal of information via my garbage bins. In fact Madame speaker, I am now seeking the services of Bahamas Waste Management to provide me with a large dumpster. Madame speaker, I again express heartfelt thanks and gratitude to those honest and gallant Bahamians and residents who despise corruption and wicked governance. I want to assure all Bahamians and residents that our Bahamas can progress without plunder and corruption. And to that end Madame speaker, I wish for all residents of our land to know in the clearest of terms that I have come to the definitive position that corruption is the FNM’s claim to fame and exposing them is Grants Town’s game.

Madame speaker, in returning to my concern about business practices, the abuse of the Treasury and this Bill to amend the Public Holidays Act; my information is that on the advice of one of its bankers, a Bahamian Conglomerate has with deliberateness and forethought for the past three years circumvented the payment of Stamp Tax. This circumvention of Stamp Tax has been done on the purchase of Bank Drafts for the purchase of goods that the company imports for resale to its customers; be they Bahamians, residents of the Bahamas or visitors to our shores. Madame speaker, the questions are, how could this be possible and how many other companies are engage in the same practice? And Madame speaker, how much Stamp Taxes was the Public Treasury defrauded of?

Madame speaker, the question as to how is it possible to circumvent the payment of Stamp Tax on the purchase of drafts on Foreign Currencies, has its answer in the Hawksbill Act. Madame speaker, I am advised that licensees of the Grand Bahama Port Authority are not required to pay Stamp Tax on the purchase of Bank Drafts. Madame speaker, the company whose name I will disclose before I conclude my contribution is a licensee of the GBPA. My information is that the company’s operations in Grand Bahamas is no longer active and has not been so for some time.

Madame speaker, on the question as to how many other companies are engaged in the same practice, the answer is still unknown to me at this time. But I wish to assure the Bahamian people that my investigations are ongoing. Madame speaker, on the question as to how much Stamp Tax was the Public Treasury defrauded of? Madame speaker, you can be assured that the sum is large being that the Bahamian Company is a conglomerate. Madame speaker, it is important to note that the Stamp Tax on the purchase of foreign Bank Drafts in the Bahamas, excluding the GB Port Authority Area is 1.5%. Madame speaker, as a conservative figure, I estimate the Bahamian Conglomerate’s annual purchases at $50 million dollars. When this is assessed at 1.5% Stamp Duty for Foreign Drafts purchased, we find that the Public Treasury was defrauded of $750,000 per year and over three years the total is $2, 250, 000.00. Madame speaker, by anyone’s terms $2 1/4 million dollars is a lot of money to have and worse to be defrauded of.

Madame speaker, the question that should be on the minds of all Bahamians is why would a Senior Bahamian Banker conceive of and encourage the circumventing or as some would say, the defrauding of the Public Treasury, of a sizeable amount of badly needed revenue? Madame speaker, I must also ask which other companies did this Senior Banker give the same advice to and what was the quid pro quo for the recommendation? It also raises the question of the greed of those who are wealthy and whether this is one of the means by which they have accumulated so much wealth? Madame speaker, I take no glee in bringing this matter or any other matter to the public that will cause some discomfort to persons that I’ve known for quite some time. But when I contrast that to the many thousands of ordinary Bahamians struggling to survive in businesses and life in general, I am compelled to expose yet another assault on the Public Treasury.

Madame speaker, as the poor and struggling continue to cry for better housing, the rich keep getting richer, but the poor continues to cry as they get poorer. This troubles me greatly. Madame speaker, $2 ¼ million dollars secured in the Treasury could have built 75 homes at $30,000 each for low income and struggling Bahamians. The resulting benefits would have significantly enhanced and impacted the lives of 75 families, if they had a government that was interested in helping the majority instead of allowing the minority merchant class to have their way with monies belonging to the Public Treasury.

Madame speaker, I now lay on the table six drafts drawn on the Bank of New York, at 48 Wall Street, NY, USA 10286. Madame speaker these drafts were issued by CIBC, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bahamas Limited, East Mall Drive Branch, Grand Bahama. Madame speaker, the purchaser of the drafts is John Bull Ltd. they are all dated December 7, 2001 and they total some US $ 143,619.73 of which they paid zero Stamp Tax. However, if they were to follow the law of 1.5% Stamp Tax Duty they would have been obligated to pay $2,154.29 Madam speaker, some would say why would I go through this long story for this small amount of money? Madame speaker, I did say that these drafts were all done on one day. We could only imagine what amounts have been lost to the Treasury because of fraud, as conducted on a yearly basis and as to a three-year period, as I stated previously.

Madame speaker, we now know the company defrauding the Treasury is John Bull. We also know the bank by which they accomplished this feat is CIBC. And we have only one day as an example of the amount of Stamp Tax lost. Madame speaker, my information is that CIBC is not the principle banker for John Bull. My sources have informed me that Barclays Bank is the principle banker for John Bull and that they refused to engage in this scam on the Public Treasury, but as we can see, CIBC Personnel gladly engaged in this act of fraud.

Madame speaker, the reality is that a criminal could always try to commit the perfect crime, but if the watchman is at his post, crime could be detected and prevented. But there are also situations called inside jobs, where the criminal has help from the watchman. Which brings me full circle to where I started when I rose to my feet. Madame speaker, it seems to me that just like when it rains it pours; when corruption is at the top of a government, all those below, such as the merchant class, can also take advantage of the circumstances and join the corruption festival. And as I spoke of inside jobs, I must comment that while the Public Treasury was raided in this instance, the Minister of Finance, the watchman over the peoples money, was no where to be found. Just as we cannot hear his mouth now that his dumbfounded fiscal policies has the economy on the ropes. Madame speaker this disappearing act may be deliberate because the Finance Minister is known and has proven himself to be a friend of the banking community and more times than not, to the detriment of the average Bahamian.

This perception was painfully shown when the Minister sat back and let Gulf Union Bank close with the average Bahamian’s money in it and did nothing to prevent it, but instead chose a cure of Bahamians waiting desperately for almost 18 months to get their money back. He had more than ample warning that Gulf Union was in serious trouble. And as if that wasn’t criminally negligent enough, a few weeks prior to the bank closing, the Minister of Finance took some of our money, the taxpayers, and put it in Gulf Union. A sum Madame speaker we never heard anything more about. And then there is the private case of Matrix Bank, where we have yet to find out why it closed, who lost money in the deal, who benefited from the closure and what was it’s real function in the banking world.

Maybe the Minister of Finance would like to tell us about that? Oh yes Madame speaker, we have many examples to show that the taxpayers watchman, the Minister of Finance is foaming at the mouth in his zeal to be friendly to the banking community to the chagrin and exclusion of every small man. Madame speaker, incompetence and mismanagement cannot qualify anyone for a Knighthood. I won’t even bother to add criminal acts as another non-qualifier. But he is not the only one who claims to be an accomplished banker. Where was the Member for Mt. Moriah while the Public Treasury was being defrauded? What did he know about this modern Jesse James act of robbing the Treasury? Maybe he can enlighten this Parliament on his knowledge, if any, of these acts of fraud? After all he was in fact a bank manager at CIBC, before politics rescued him from a possible spot on the unemployment line.

Madame speaker, I have spoken extensively on the need for reform of our Domestic Banking Sector. My utterances date back to 1994, but they have been met with a deafening silence by this government, notwithstanding the Member for North Abaco’s deceit when he said in this place that something had to be done about the gun to the head tactics of Domestic Banks in the Bahamas. And a clear example of these kinds of banking tactics is this case where I hasten to remind you that the settling rate on the six mentioned Drafts for John Bull was fixed at 1.006, whereas, the general Public is forced to pay a settling rate of 1.125.

Madame speaker, this cannot be right. The FNM promised Consumer Protection Legislation that has not seen the light of day. And they have the temerity to say they are the champions of the small man. When in fact consumers need protection in a desperate way from this renegade Government.

Madame speaker, I would like to conclude by saying that Sunday Shopping continues to be an issue of concern to a number of our well known Clerics, who from time to time speak out in opposition to it. Their views have been consistent. However Madame speaker, their outspoken voices are clearly swimming against the tide. Madame speaker, it was around this time last year when I accused this government of having atheistic views. I can remember the great uproar this caused along with the gnashing of teeth, as was the case when Jesus spoke the word of God to those possessed with demons. Now I am not Jesus, nor do I claim to be, but how well I remember the great offense taken by some of the members of this place last year around this time, when I in fact accused this government and all therein of atheistic views.

And yet Madame speaker, as Clerics continue to express their opposition to Sunday Shopping, Members of the Government who attend churches of the various denominations opposed to Sunday Shopping have placed a zipper on their own mouths. Not a word of unified opposition from these supposed spiritual superstars, who claim to be Reverends, Pastors and some have new names of, Church Business Administrators. All of these religious titles they thrust upon themselves, when they should call themselves charlatans, and since we are on the subject, they should just call themselves frauds. Madame speaker, their political obligations have hijacked the teachings of their religious leaders and I dare say even the teachings of the one and only true God. Some would even say they have allowed their religious principles to be subjected to the political will of their god on earth, the maximum leader. But yet they took offense to me telling them the truth about their atheistic views a year ago. Madame speaker, I guess the truth hurts.

Madame speaker, I can recall that Sunday Shopping was initially driven and promoted to allow visitors to our shores to shop on Sundays. Here in New Providence the powerful downtown Bay Street Merchants would be allowed to enhance their sales in response to the demands of visitors to our shores. One of the companies that can and has benefited from this Public Holidays Act we are debating today, is John Bull. And I dare say they have benefited big time, when we now see one of the means of how they do it. Madame speaker, in that regard and with documentation laid on the table to prove it, I demand that John Bull be made to open their books and once accurately calculated, repay forthwith all the money they have defrauded the Treasury of. In turn Madame speaker, I also demand that this money be put in a special fund, where houses can be built for the poor and marginalized. When I say a special fund, I mean one that cannot be touched by the government of the country, once it is stipulated for the specific purpose to build houses for the needy. We cannot be foolish with this exercise once John Bull is made to repay the Public Treasury, for if we leave it to this government to do the right thing with the money, it would be similar to the story of someone taking from a tief and unwittingly giving it to another tief.

Madame speaker, along with this action being taken by the government, inclusive of law enforcement authorities, in the quest to retrieve what must be substantial sums, it is my opinion that John Bull and any other store that may be engaging in this criminal exercise, be precluded from opening as a right being given by this Bill that will pass today. Madame speaker, as we near the closure of the Parliament for 2001, I pray that God gives Bahamians the strength to survive the revelations that will come our way in the early months of 2002, cause God only knows what other corrupt acts this government will commit over Christmas. And on that note…

AS ALWAYS MADAME SPEAKER, ON BEHALF OF THE RELENTLESS GRANTS TOWN CONSTITUENCY, I THANK YOU.